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Hillsborough falls among Florida school districts....

Behind last week's release of the latest school grades was unflattering news for the Pinellas and Hillsborough districts: a drop in rank among other Florida school systems.

Hillsborough fell from No. 24 to No. 38 among the state's 67 districts this year while Pinellas is No. 49, down from No. 40. Among the 12 biggest districts Hillsborough is now ninth and Pinellas is 10th.

Hillsborough's district grade also dipped — from an A to a B — while Pinellas held on to a B for an eighth straight year despite coming as close as it ever has to a C.

In the Tampa Bay area public school districts are entrusted with multi billion dollar budgets that directly impact over 500,000 students, 50,000 employees and thousands of vendors and service providers.

Elected school boards in each of the counties are tasked with overseeing these dollars and providing oversight.

Ultimately, however,it falls upon the citizenry to monitor the conduct and expenditures of public dollars and the quality of education being provided to children.

Reports of many children struggling to attain a quality public education have been featured prominently in the local media and underscores the need for parents, family members and all stakeholders to actively participate in the educational process.

Please consider attending an upcoming school board meeting to add your voice to the call for a high quality public education for all children.